Comparisons can be clearly drawn between the New York Giants' current run to the Super Bowl and the Steelers' run of two years ago.

• Both teams won three road games to get there.

• Both teams defeated the top two seeds in their respective conferences to get there: Pittsburgh beat Indianapolis and Denver, New York handled Dallas and Green Bay.

• Both teams had young quarterbacks — Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning — come of age with efficient, mistake-free performances to get there.

That's where the similarities end.

Roethlisberger laid an egg in the Super Bowl against Seattle. The Steelers won anyway.

If Manning lays an egg in the Super Bowl Sunday, the Giants won't win anyway.

The Steelers dominated the top-seeded Colts in Indianapolis, having to hold on at the end only because of some horrid officiating and the infamous Jerome Bettis fumble. They dominated at Denver as well, with the outcome of that game never really in doubt.

The Giants held on to beat the Cowboys in Dallas because that was an evenly played game. They dominated statistically against Green Bay and were aided by numerous Packers mistakes before finally winning in overtime.

Seattle was a good team two years ago, clearly the best the NFC has to offer.

New England is a great team this year, clearly the best the NFL has to offer ... maybe ever.

The Giants gave this team a run for its money in the regular season finale. Manning played a fabulous game — even better than Tom Brady — and New York had a double-digit lead at home in the second half.

But the bottom line is this:They still fell behind New England by 10 points before scoring a late touchdown to make the final score seem closer than it was.

Now there's a rematch.

Can Manning play that well again? Can Brady be expected to throw multi-interceptions in consecutive games? (He threw three in the AFC title win over San Diego).

The Giants have the best pass rush in the league, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick — a defensive guru in his own right — has had two weeks to prepare for it, along with having faced that defense less than a month ago.

Randy Moss had one catch against New York in that regular season finale. The Pats used short passes to move up and down the field in that game.

Don't expect Moss to be so quiet this time.

The Giants need to get to Brady quickly to disrupt the short passing attack that ate them alive the last time. They'll have to gamble to do it.

That means leaving Moss in single coverage at times.

New England is undefeated for a reason. This team simply is too much to handle.

Move over, Miami. After 36 years, you've finally got some company.

New England 34, N.Y. Giants 20.

MVP? Naming Brady is too easy. My choice is Moss, who will take advantage of the Giants necessary defensive adjustments.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle.